1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor processing, and more particularly to the protection of certain portions of wafers during semiconductor processing operations.
2. Description of Related Art
Chemical vapor deposition ("CVD") is a gas reaction process commonly used in the semiconductor industry to form thin layers of material known as films over an integrated circuit substrate. The CVD process is based on the thermal, plasma, or thermal and plasma decomposition and reaction of selected gases. The most widely used CVD films are silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and polysilicon, although a wide variety of CVD films suitable for insulators and dielectrics, semiconductors, conductors, superconductors, and magnetics are well known.
Particulate contamination of CVD films must be avoided. A particularly troublesome source of particulates in the chemical vapor deposition of metals and other conductors such as tungsten, tungsten silicide, and titanium nitride, is the film that forms on the edge and backside of the wafer under certain conditions. For example, if the wafer edge and backside are unprotected or inadequately protected during deposition, a partial coating of the CVD material forms on the wafer edge and backside, respectively. This partial coating tends to peel and flake easily for some types of materials, introducing particulates into the chamber during deposition and subsequent handling steps.
Many approaches have been developed for addressing the problem of material deposition on the wafer backside. In one approach, the material is permitted to form on the backside, but then is removed immediately following the deposition step using an in-situ plasma etch. This approach entails additional process steps and requires additional equipment capabilities, and also affects the flatness of the wafer. In another approach, the wafer is clamped onto a substrate holder in an attempt to seal and isolate the backside region from the CVD gas. An adequate seal tends to be difficult to achieve in practice, and the mechanical motion between the clamp and the wafer itself causes particulates. Yet another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,558, issued Apr. 4, 1989 to Itoh. A substrate support member having the form of a cylinder is provided with a flat bearing surface on which the substrate rests. Three pins protrude from the peripheral edge portion of the bearing surface. The sidewalls of the substrate are insulated from the reactive gases by a cover, which is further provided with a lifted and bent region that surrounds the substrate at the level of the substrate. The lifted and bent region is said to trap the reactive gas on the lateral face of the wafer, thereby preventing a film from being deposited on the wafer backside.